A Field Guide to New Krypton - with Commentary

This week kicks off the ten-part “New Krypton” arc in DC Comics’ Superman titles with the 48 page Superman: New Krypton Special by Geoff Johns, James Robinson and Sterling Gates, writers of Action Comics, Superman and Supergirl, respectively. Vast in scope, the story explores the aftermath of Superman’s actions in the recent Action Comics #870, that is, the transplantation of the Kyrptonian city of Kandor in the Arctic, complete with 100,000 Kryptonians.

That’s the least you need to know to get what’s going on with the story.
Need more?

Let’s start this with a look at how a city from the dead world of Krypton winds up on earth in the first place.
If I Could Save Cities in a Bottle…
Events leading to “New Krypton” began (in DC Comics’ time) 35 years ago
when the destruction of Kandor’s lunar colony by Jax-Ur drew Brainiac’s
attention. As shown in Action Comics #866
Brainiac invaded Krypton’s system, targeting the city of Kandor itself,
in his unending and merciless quest for knowledge. Kryptonian forces
(led by General Zod and Ursa, recently of the “Last Son” arc in Action Comics)
tried to resist, but Brainiac’ s technology was far superior to that of
the Kryptonians. As a result, Kandor was sealed off with a force field,
and then, to Kryptonian eyes, it disappeared.
In reality though, Kandor was shrunk and transported on to Brainiac’s
ship. Brainiac’s game? Assimilating the knowledge of an entire
civilization in toto
to evolve himself and his technology and then, to increase the value of
that knowledge, destroying the civilization. His usual method? Grab a
city from a star system, take its dominant city in terms of knowledge
and culture (with population intact) and then fire a “solar aggressor”
into the system’s sun, artificially inducing the star to go nova, and
incinerate the entire system. As Brainiac told Superman, “Knowledge is
power.”
Superman found in Action #868, Brainiac’s ship loaded
with “bottled cities” that the villain had stolen over the centuries.
Once miniaturized, the combination of the force field, base and
integration with Brainiac’s ship keep the miniaturization process
stable. Once removed from Brainiac’s bio-shell (effectively, his ship)
the containment fields cannot hold, making the cities (and residents)
permanent possessions of the alien.
That said, how did Kandor end up in the Arctic?
In the “Brainiac” storyline, the true Brainiac (unseen until this arc,
though there have been other individuals and creatures that have used
the name, and been under the influence of the alien prior to this
story) had been hunting for Superman with his robotic probes for
decades. After discovering the city of Kandor was being held by
Brainiac, Superman sought him out. Once Brainiac encountered Superman,
he set his ship on a course to earth. Of course, coming into earth’s
solar system also whetted Brainiac’ s appetite, so he shrunk and took
Metropolis. In the storyline’s conclusion, Superman took both
Metropolis and Kandor from Brainiac’s ship. Superman was able to return
Metropolis to its proper spot before its containment field collapsed
and it returned to full size (although we bet he’s going to be busy for
months
repairing the subways and all the underground utilities…) and flew
Kandor to the Arctic, near his Fortress of Solitude before its
containment field failed.
End result? Kandor in the Arctic.
Which must be a chilly surprise to the Kryptonians. Not to mention the polar bears.
But who are these Kryptonians? Good question.
Who Are the People in Your (Kandorian) Neighborhood?
Kandorians.
You saw that coming, right?
Solicitation materials, as well as the creators themselves have said
that there are about 100,000 people in Kandor, but there are a couple
of important points to be made about the general population.
1) Supergirl’s parents are there. As they revealed to him in Action Comics #869,
Zor-El and Alura were “saved” from Argo City, a remnant of Krypton that
was preserved due to Zor-El and Alura re-creating Brainiac’s force
field over the city, by Brainiac. After the destruction of Krypton, he
sensed his technology being used, tracked it down, and integrated it
into Kandor, slaughtering anyone whose Kryptonian knowledge was
redundant. Zor-El and Alura were the lucky ones. It was while Brainiac
was attacking that Zor-El and Alura put Kara (Supergirl) into a rocket
headed for earth. Johns said, “I wanted to tie Brainiac closer to both
Superman and Supergirl and I felt Argo City’s dome based on Brainiac’s
technology was an organic and logical step. I also wanted to create
something, a boogieman of sorts, for Supergirl that she could struggle
to overcome. James and I knew right away when we teamed-up on these
books that Supergirl was going to be a major character in Action Comics
and Superman. And with Sterling on Supergirl, I mean the reaction to
his first issue was almost universally positive and I think for good
reason. I love what he has planned for that book.”
And points for those of you remembering the name “Zor-el” – he’s the
younger brother of Jor-el, Superman’s father. Yes, one of “New
Krypton”’s characters will be Superman’s uncle.
Note – yes, what comes here most likely supersedes anything that
came before relating to Supergirl, Zor-el and Alura, even (especially)
their villainous past and sending Kara to earth to kill Superman.
2) Of slightly less importance in regards to Superman’s heritage, but still definitely noteworthy – in a flashback about Brainiac’ s invasion and the Battle for Kandor in Action #866, General Zod is seen saying of his soldiers, “Another six hundred were trapped behind the field that surrounded Kandor.”
Yay. Kryptonian soldiers. Wait – Kryptonian soldiers, loyal to Zod.
Why’s this a big deal?
As was seen in the “Last Son” arc of Action Comics
(by Johns and Richard Donner), Zod inspired (demanded of) his troops to
a level of loyalty bordering on fanaticism. After the abduction of
Kandor, and incensed by the Council’s refusal to open study in
interstellar travel (so he could track Brainiac and regain Kandor)
coupled with the refusal to listen to Jor-El’s warnings, Zod led troops
to attack the Council chambers, killing several members.
Let’s take that again, slowly – his men were that loyal to him, they they willingly committed treason against Krypton.
So what does that mean for the 600 in Kandor? Well, they’re loyal to Zod. But
- the last time they saw their commander was when he was outside the
force field, promising to save them. As a result of being in the field
(as Zor-el mentioned) time appears to slow, so for these soldiers,
their service under Zod seems to be much more recent than the near four
decades since the battle. These are fresh soldiers, loyal to a leader
who was tried and convicted as a criminal by Jor-el, whose son just
happens to be the champion of the planet on which they now live, and
who also recently humiliated and trounced their General (as well as
Ursa, his second) in battle, and banished them all back into the
Phantom Zone.
But hey, we may be barking up the wrong tree here and peace may reign since they don’t know that last part.

Yet.

Also, on the whole, the creators have said that the Kryptonians view
earth as their new home (“New Krypton” – get it?), which leads to, as
the solicitations exist, unrest when the people who live on their “new
home” start to push back. As we mentioned earlier,
bringing Kryptonians to earth rarely ends well, as not all of them have
time to be raised by Ma and Pa (sniff) Kent, as Superman was.
The Main Players – and Others - of “New Krypton”
Of course, since this is a Superman storyline, Superman and Supergirl
(and we hope Krypto) will play major roles in “New Krypton,” but who
else will we see?

Supergirl

Yeah, we mentioned her right there, but something that’s worth
considering is that she grew up on Krypton…well, in Argo City. Her
views of culture and society are inherently Kryptonian. She’s had massive
problems fitting in with the heroes and people of earth. He parents are
alive and living in Kandor. If hostilities start up and people are
called upon to stand on one side of a line or another…where will she
stand? “That’s going to be an issue with Supergirl, obviously,” said
Johns, “And Sterling has his work cut out for him. Just as she’s taken
on the ‘Linda Lang’ identity and decided to give this human world a go,
she no longer has to…but does she still want to?”
Lex Luthor
Johns has stated that Luthor will be involved in “New Krypton,”
thinking that he’s the only one who can save the world, and perhaps
being correct in that assertion. When he led the (very effective)
resistance against the Kryptonians from the Phantom Zone in “Last Son,”
Luthor took the opportunity to figuratively declare open season on
Kryptonians. If these Kryptonians go bad, is earth’s last, best
hope…Luthor? “Luthor killed his first Kryptonian in ‘Last Son’ and he
enjoyed that very much. Like eating a bar of chocolate,” said Johns,
“He’s going to want to do that again.”
The Metropolis Guardian
Just brought fully back this past week by James Robinson in Superman’s Pal: Jimmy Olsen, The Guardian is Jim Harper. Robinson is keeping him on the side of what’s going on in his Superman
book, that is, looking into the government conspiracy against Superman,
so expect some action as that storyline intertwines with the larger
“New Krypton” arc – and of course, “New Krypton” part 3 is told in the
pages of November’s Guardian of Metropolis Special by Robinson.
“I have to give major props to James,” Johns said. “For a lot of
things, beyond being an inspiration and am amazing writer, he has got
me hooked on where he’s taking the Guardian and what his plans are.
James has brought as much care and love and passion to Jim Harper, and
the Science Police for that matter, as he did to the O’Dares and Mikaal
in Starman. I’m extremely excited about his plans for them and another
character in particular, one whose fans are going to be ecstatic, that
will appear in ‘New Krypton’ and will take a major role in the DC
Universe in 2009.”
Nightwing and Flamebird
Johns and company will be reviving two costumed heroes from the Silver
Age in “New Krypton,” too. Originally costumed identities the Silver
Age Superman and Jimmy Olsen took on a visit to Kandor. The roles were
later taken over by Van-Zee and Ak-Var, Kandorian citizens. Since then
Superman and Lois have taken the names, as have Supergirl and Power
Girl, along with any number of other characters. But you know what?
Forget that. Just forget it – too much thinking about it (especially
the circularity of how it all relates to Dick Grayson taking the name
“Nightwing”) will make your head explode.
For “New Krypton” just know this – a new Nightwing and Flamebird were
shown on the Alex Ross tryptch that serves as the covers to Superman #681, Action Comics #871 and Supergirl #35
- encompassing parts 2-4 of "New Krypton." Who they are in this
newfound Kandor (a male Nightwing and female Flamebird) remains to be
seen. “Nightwing and Flamebird were, again, characters James and I
discussed at great length. Nightwing in particular. And Flamebird will
actually have a direct tie to Supergirl,” said Johns, “so you can look
for her to appear in Sterling’s Supergirl in the coming year as well.”
Agent Liberty
A seemingly odd choice that Johns has mentioned playing a role in the
story, Agent Liberty was a product of the early ‘90s Superman line. A
former CIA operative, Ben Lockwood agreed to become the costumed Agent
Liberty and work with the Sons of Liberty group. Sons went bad,
Lockwood left, did some heroing for a while, and gave it up. Johns has
a soft spot for him, and brought him back to active duty in the pages
of Infinite Crisis. “Actually, this was James’ idea so I have to give credit to him,” said Johns, “James has really given him a wonderful voice.”
“The Threat Behind Atlas”
As seen in Robinson’s opening Superman arc, Atlas wasn’t a solo operator. Who were the forces in government behind him? The solicitations for Superman
promise they’ll be making their moves during “New Krypton” as well.
“James has set a lot up,” added Johns, “and it’s going to be clear that
he’s said up as much as I have with the ‘Brainiac’ storyline once we
get the ball rolling. The intricacies that James has set into motion
between his Superman issues and the Jimmy Olsen special are
unbelievable. Like Starman, you don’t see some of it until it’s deeper
in, but ‘New Krypton’ is just that.”
Brainiac’s Body
Although Brainiac went down –hard – like a Wellsian Martain when he was dumped out of his “bottle” and into a swamp in Action #870, the solicitations for Action
promise that someone has grabbed Brainiac, and will be using him to
build an army to stand against the Kryptonians. Later solicitations
have revealed that the individual is…Luthor. Sweet. “Brainiac is a
major player in the world of Superman from here on out,” teased Johns,
“he’s unarguable one of Superman’s greatest enemies and will continue
to plague him in the years ahead.”
Metallo and Reactron
Two Superman villains Johns has been hinting that will see some action in Action
during “New Krypton.” “Metallo is going to be reintroduced in the
coming months,” Johns said, “Along with the Parasite, he’ll be one of
the main characters Gary Frank and I will be working on beyond
the ‘New Krypton’ story in 2009. I’m going to be delving into Metallo
and Parasite much like I’ve tackled the Rogues in The Flash in Gary’s
next huge arc (details on that will be revealed soon, but one of the
elements in it is going to be a dream come true). I’ll be reintroducing
Reactron after Luthor’s gotten his hands on him in Action Comics #872.
He was a minor Supergirl villain and since he was going to be used, I
wanted to see him tied closer to Superman mythology. I came up with an
idea I’m really psyched about – and Gary’s done an absolutely
incredible job on redesigning him.” Added Johns, “He’s going to be a
great rogue for Supergirl.”
Superwoman
What? Again?
DC has, over the years and for various reasons, sought to bring a
Superwoman character into the fold, and it looks as if “New Krypton”
will bring us another. Johns has said virtually nothing about her in
appearances, and all we’re going on is that she’s in Ross’ triptych, in
a costume reminiscent of the “original” Superwoman from DC Comics Presents Annual #4.
“I’ll say something about Superwoman, Matt. When the idea of ‘New
Krypton’ was floating around James and I knew we wanted to introduce a
mysterious Superwoman. We came up with the idea of who that would be
and why, and some specific beats in New Krypton and beyond, and then
Sterling’s is going to take that and run with it. I just read a scene
in an upcoming issue of Supergirl that he wrote that was…unsettling,”
Johns teased. “I like Superwoman quite a bit and I think came up with
some great plans for her. You need to read Supergirl if you’re not if I
haven’t made that clear.”
The Kandorians
As we mentioned earlier, the “100,000 Kandorians” includes 600 soldiers
loyal to Zod – which will most likely be its own problem. But what
about the general population? All will have powers, but, as Johns has
mentioned, not all will be disciplined in them, as Superman and even
Supergirl have had time to get used to living on earth. “There is
obviously going to be some tension among the soldiers. And many of them
won’t understand why General Zod was considered a criminal…” said Johns.
What else? Given the characters seen in Alex Ross’ triptych , “New Krpton” may be a place for DC to redefine the culture of Krypton. As can be seen in the image (and in Ross’ cover to Superman #682)
Kandorians appear in various outfits, from those similar to the Silver
Age (“everyone wore spandex”) Kryptonian costumes to the frilly sleeved
bodysuits familiar to the sterile science-as-religion Krypton first
seen in John Byrne’s Man of Steel restart of Superman. “You’ll
see there are different guilds and Houses on Krypton that reflect the
different garb,” said Johns. “James has really spearheaded the detailed
world of Kandor itself.”
Oh, and if we’re using Ross’ covers as fertile ground for clue-mining, the cover to Superman #683
shows Superman flying through an asteroid field in which, are
conspicuous glowing chunks of Kryptonite…blue, gold green and red. As
we saw in “Last Son,” red “plays hopscotch with a Kryptonian’s
DNA…turns ‘em into freaks;” blue is effective against Bizarro; green
hurts and can kill Kryptonians; and gold temporarily negates Kryptonian
powers. And Luthor knows all of this.
Other characters coming out of left field?
Ultra the Multi-Alien
Who?
One of DC’s funkadelic space characters from the ‘60s, Ultra the
Multi-Alien was once earthman Ace Arn, who had the four quarters of his
body changed into parts form four different alien species (he, it was
the ‘60s, okay?), and Johns has shown the character a nod or two over
the years, starting way back in Stars and STRIPE and more recently in Infinite Crisis.
“He’ll be seen briefly, then play a bigger role late next year,” added
Johns, “Matt Idelson actually helped come up with his new name – Ultra
the Ultimate Alien…why he’s called that will be clear in the future.”
Most recently, in Action #867, Brainiac attacked the
planet that was home to all four of the species that make up Ultra (and
stole a city), and Superman spotted him (though Superman has no idea
who he is) in one of Brainiac’s pods in #868.
The Creature Commandos
Again, who?
A World War II era team made up of a Frankenstein monster, a vampire, a
werewolf, a medusa-style creature, a normal human, and GI Robot.
Created by the shadowy Project M (recently revived in Post-Infinite Crisis
continuity) the team was shot into space due to the fact that the
government wanted to wipe the table clean. As Johns revealed at the DC Nation panel in Baltimore,Brainiac
found them. “Superman fighting alongside Frankenstein and Dracula in
army fatigues is cool. Plus, Dan Didio was constantly talking about
these guys. He really likes them and I love them. So if James can work
with the Guardian and Agent Liberty, I can work with some obscure
characters too,” said Johns. “Like Ultra, they’ll be appearing briefly.”
Where Is This Happening?
Like last year’s Sinestro Corps War,
“New Krypton” is sticking to the Superman titles, plus one special.
While DCU characters will appear in the storyline, the storyline itself
will not spill from the boundaries of the Super-books. The run down with planned
in-store dates:
Part 1 – Superman: New Krypton Special (10/22)